by Carol Roberts | Feb 16, 2018 | Hope
There is a popular phrase that says forgive and forget. That sounds easy but when someone continues to issue the same heart aches over and over how do we forget. We give chance after chance only to be slapped in the face each time.
It’s important to remember that forgiveness does not require that we continue to cast pearls before swine. Another point to remember is walking away from a situation or person does not mean failure or weakness. What it means is God has seen our efforts and their responses and He is ushering us into a promotion to better fellowships. Our peace comes from trusting God even for the things we do not see and for the things we do not feel.
Some people feel that to walk away after many attempts to please a person is like giving up on their own selves. That is far from the truth. The many hours spent toward an undeserving situation or group of people are hours God has invested in our eternity. No tear is ever wasted and no attempt to be kind to a person goes unnoticed. God sees it all. He sees every act of love and kindness and He sees every response.
Growing in grace means to die to our own desires daily and to pick up our cross and follow Him. As we press on toward the love of Jesus Christ He will see to it we are in His company the whole way. We are marching on toward a victory. We are moving forward.
Romans 8:31 Romans 8:37 New Living Translation
What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, Who loved us.
by Carol Roberts | Feb 14, 2018 | Love
With things these days being so much about material things it’s hard to notice the unseen love. We will all have to give an account to God for how we use our time for Him. God will not judge us based on our ownership of the latest cell phone or the number of trophies on our shelves. He will not compare us to our neighbor or our worst enemy. He will judge us based on His word and His love.
The good thing about love is that He loves us according to Who He Is and not who we are. The more we listen to Him and help others to know Him the more His love shines through us. It is this type of love that will be left over when all material things are removed at judgement.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 New Living Translation (NLT)
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
by Carol Roberts | Feb 12, 2018 | Love
There are examples in the Bible of jealousy and it is never pretty. Able brought an offering from his best lambs and Cain brought crops from his field. The Bible is not clear exactly why Cain’s offering was rejected. It could be that it wasn’t the first fruit but just a fruit. Many suggest that Able’s offering was from shed blood to represent Christ. Either way, Cain’s response was jealousy and bitterness toward Able causing Cain to ponder Able’s demise.
Jesus gave a parable of the prodigal son. This younger son squandered away his inheritance while the older son remained obedient. When the younger son came to his senses he was welcomed by his father with open arms. This created envy with the older son instead of him being glad to see his younger brother. What do these examples have in common?
God deals with each of us as individuals. There are no two people alike. Our service to God and His requirements of us are tailor made to fit who we are. While it may seem that our brother or sister in Christ is getting more than us, we do not know the requirements God has placed on their hearts.
Suppose God gave us exactly what our neighbor has? Would we know what to do with it in order to glorify God or would we let it go to waste? God is fair and He gives to each of us what we use to glorify His name. During these times when we feel left out of blessings it is a calling for us to seek God’s face to determine what we failed to do. If we truly seek God’s counsel we will quickly learn that we have already been blessed. He has blessed us in ways that fit us perfectly.
Many times we do not see these blessings because they do not go beyond this perfect fit. While we see the blessings as an ordinary part of our life others may very well see us as being blessed while they feel left out. The key is to keep focused on God and what He has for us to do and let our brothers and sisters keep focused on their calling. As we mind our own business it closes the door to the temptation of wanting to trip up others out of spite. We must remember that if we got their exact blessings they will become uninteresting because we cannot use those blessings.
Whether envy is the result of someone getting a job we want or a girlfriend or a house it’s all the same. Even if we were to take it away from them and have these things for ourselves it would quickly bite us. These blessings not only are a mismatch for us, we have robbed our own selves of precious time that could have been used glorifying God with our own blessings. We are to avoid envy at all costs because the consequences always come back to bite us.
Galatians 5:14-15 New Living Translation
For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.
by Carol Roberts | Feb 9, 2018 | Encouragement
The Bible often makes references to dust and soil. Adam was formed from dust. Jesus said one day our bodies will return to the dust. One of Jesus’ finest parables speaks of seeds that fall on different types of soil. It makes sense to think of ourselves as an area of soil ready to hear and understand His divine instructions.
There are rains and storms in life that are very rough on us. During these storms we have a decision to make. Do we use these storms as a tiller to prepare for God’s choicest seeds or do we harden our attitudes making it impossible for a seed to even be planted?
Hard knocks in life happen to us and the harder the knock the deeper the trench made in our heart. The deeper the trench the closer God can get to our innermost being. While it’s true that some hardships in life leave a lingering hurt it’s what we do with these hurts that matter.
Is there a person who is experiencing similar to what we are going through? Do we offer to pray for that person or do we join in a complaint session? One response leads to prepared ground ready for a seed and the other response leads to a hard rocky response that will not produce anything.
God makes up to us anything we sacrifice to Him. Job, one of God’s best servants, lost crops, family and friends. During his grief were certain friends who were no help at all. He never cursed God and God restored twice everything he lost. He will do the same for us. As we endure these trials we remain focused on Him and the things He would have us do. He will see to it blessings come our way.
Hebrews 6:7-8 New Living Translation
When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing. But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.
by Carol Roberts | Feb 7, 2018 | Love
There are times we feel love and acceptance all around us. Friends are but a phone call away and a home has a loving family. Things on the job are going well and opportunities to fellowship are in abundance.
There are other times when we feel so very alone even in a crowd of people. Family and friends love us but somehow the peaceful feeling is not penetrating our hearts. We feel left out when opportunities to serve are not there and friends are out with other friends and not us.
Have we been forgotten? No. It could very well be that God is calling us to spend time with Him. There is nothing more intimate that time alone with someone where that span of time is designed just for us.
During these times when nothing seems to fall into place and we feel left out God is saying, “My child, come here.” Just like a parent needs time alone with a child to fulfill basic needs and to guide his life into the right direction, God needs these times alone with us. When we are loved like this, from the inside out, then as things happen such as being left out, our loneliness transforms into being alone peacefully.
Isaiah 49:15 New Living Translation
“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!